Our Happiness Journey: 5 Tips on How To Unplug From Your Daily Digital Usage
Sometimes all it takes is to.. disconnect.
I know, my work is actually to be connected, 24/7, and being “available” 24/7 is something that changed me completely, I must say. As an entrepreneur (remember my freelance diary?) , I can say now that I’ve learned so many lessons running HeyMaca, and am still learning new ones every day.
A few weeks back, in partnership with our friends at TELUS I visited Vancouver to learn all about the company including their efforts building a better society and how it is never ever too late to start a happiness journey, even when living in a hyperconnected world.
In today’s post, I want to walk you through 5 magical tips on how you can unplug from your daily digital usage to live a happy and fullfilled life, at least for a bit.
Living a mindful, fulfilled life, should be mandatory for all.
plan little getaways
… and break that routine! We started doing this and I can now say: WHY didn’t I do THIS before? Almost every weekend, I was either spending a looooot of time on social media or working on photos, events, writing because it’s my job. I didn’t spend any time planning more activities with my family and concentrated all my efforts in this entrepreneurial life. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad to work hard, but at a certain point, I had to set boundaries.
We did a couple of little getaways with the kids, changing the scenery, exploring around and seeing different people. It set us in such a mindful, serene mood as a family and as a whole.
The art of curiosity & exploring, can be sometimes the best therapy you need.
The happiness workshop
Remember my Vancouver adventures a few months back? Sure, you saw LOTS of fun activities with the best group of people from all over Canada but you may have missed the behind the scenes of my favourite part of this experience: the happiness workshop.
On our last day, we met the TELUS team and two TELUS Wise ambassadors, who took us through the happiness workshop, followed by a one-hour yoga/meditation session with NO phones. Yes, you read that right, no-phones-allowed. Just picture a room full of bloggers and content creators, that for a full morning, had to leave their phones away. I must confess, I freaked out.
We learned all about the TELUS wise program, which includes a free online happiness workshop targeted to teens (grades 9-12). We talked about building and maintaining a healthy relationship with technology and the workshop offered tips on resiliency and well-being in a hyper connected world.
This brilliant workshop tackles relevant issues regarding online activity amongst youth such as excessive digital use and comparing oneself to others (a problem we constantly see in our blogging world), being aware of and limiting social comparisons that can get in the way of our happiness and practicing the Joy of Missing Out (JOMO) as opposed to the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). What I loved the most about it? The importance of periodically disconnecting from everything.
Priceless.
The recent launch of the TELUS Wise happiness workshop is a testament to TELUS’ ongoing commitment to empower Canadians of all ages to be safe and responsible online and If you want to learn more about the happiness workshop, read all about it here.
Set a mindful routine every morning
Small steps changed me instantly. I closed my digital usage for 10 minutes once a day and started my meditation practice. I can’t recommend this mind body activity enough to all of you. It has helped me in so many ways, controlling my emotions, understanding my feelings, liberating my anxiety caused by social media and unpredictable aspects of this job I can’t control.
It has helped me to work on my parenting skills, my patience when we have difficult phases and overall being grateful of everything. I’m currently using Headspace, a free app on Iphone and Android that teaches you all the basics of daily meditation.
I also started listening to podcasts when I drive and I’ve been LOVING it! My favourites? The Goop Podcast, 10% happier with Dan Harris, The Love Jam, Philosophy this, and many more.
Nourish your body with good habits
Cutting the use of our digital devices helped me realized I desperately needed to add a dose of healthy habits in my every day life. What I did?
- Healthier and rich meal plans (I even started cooking more with food service boxes)
- Turning off our devices while we eat as a family
- Setting hours and limits when it comes to digital usage for us and the kids
- Committing to doing daily activities that involve our hands: crafting, painting and activities that will help develop our creativity.
New hobbies will change.. YOU.
I stayed indoors connected to my phone most days and nights. I didn’t want to move my body for many months, and I needed to change my routine and take care of my mental health, my body, my spirit. After my Vancouver trip, opening up how we felt, I committed to start with small steps:
– Walks outside every single day.
– Started Pilates lessons once a week (and now after a few weeks, I’m doing it twice a week)
– Finished food styling e-courses.
– Enrolled to photography classes (that I’ll be starting soon)
– Planning to do a pottery class soon.
Be easy on yourself, find a hobby that can help you disconnect, and is therapeutic for your soul.
How do you unplug from your daily digital usage?
Endless thanks to the TELUS team for sponsoring this post.
All opinions expressed here are my own.
